Aldec to offer Synplicity's Pro Tool Through University Program

Henderson Nevada, January 2nd, 2002 - Aldec, Inc., a leading supplier of HDL design entry and verification software for application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) and field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) in conjunction with Synplicity (NASDAQ: SYNP), a leading supplier of software for the design and verification of semiconductors, announced today the appointment of Aldec, Inc. as a non-exclusive distributor of the Synplicity University Program. Aldec, Inc. will be offering Synplicity’s Synplify Pro product bundled with Aldec’s University Program products to accredited universities for teaching and research purposes only.

Aldec will provide Synplify Pro licenses (PC or UNIX floating) to universities and research institutions for a 1-year or 3-year period. The success of both university programs stimulated both companies to broaden the product offering to offer accredited universities additional advancements in the EDA industry.
“By offering this solution to accredited universities for research and teaching purposes, Aldec will be able to offer a complete solution to customers at an affordable price. This solution will complement each program by offering Aldec’s FPGA design entry and mixed VHDL, Verilog and EDIF simulation product together with Synplicity’s industry-leading Synplify Pro synthesis tool, giving universities and research centers the best EDA solution available,” stated John Shephard, University Program Manager for Aldec, Inc.

Sandra Larrabee, Tactical Marketing Manager for Synplicity, added, “Synplicity’s University Program has expanded significantly this year. By offering a bundled solution with Aldec, Synplicity hopes to further expand our program and make our program stronger by offering multiple solutions to universities worldwide. The Synplify Pro software is equipped with a graphical HDL code analysis tool that automatically generates a RTL-level schematic from the Verilog or VHDL source code. In an easy to read schematic, students can instantly view exactly what their HDL code produced; enhancing and expediting the learning process.”

Availability
Aldec is currently offering the Active-HDL with Synplify Pro bundle to accredited universites and research facilities worldwide. The product is available as a floating license and includes Aldec’s HDL Project Manager, HDL Editor, State Machine Editor, and Block Diagram & Schematic Editors, Automatic Testbench Generation, Waveform Viewer/Editor, and a choice of VHDL, Verilog or mixed VHDL/Verilog/EDIF simulation as well as Synplicity’s Synplify Pro synthesis tool.

About Aldec
Aldec, Inc. has offered PC and Workstation-based design entry and simulation solutions to FPGA and ASIC designers for more than 16 years. During this time, Aldec has signed several OEM agreements with IC vendors, such as Xilinx, Inc. (NASDAQ:XLNX) and Cypress Semiconductor Corp. (NYSE:CY). Aldec, headquartered in Henderson, Nevada, produces a universal suite of Windows, Linux and UNIX-based EDA tools that allow design engineers to implement their designs using several different design entry methods (Schematic Capture, State Machine, Block Diagram, VHDL, Verilog or ABEL). Aldec incorporates patented simulation technology and several design entry tools to provide a complete design entry and simulation solution. Founded in 1984, the company continues to evolve in the EDA market as the fastest growing verification company in the world.

About Synplicity
Synplicity, Inc. (NASDAQ: SYNP) is a leading provider of software products that enable the rapid and effective design and verification of semiconductors used in next-generation networking and communications hardware and other electronic devices. The company leverages its innovative logic synthesis, physical synthesis and verification software solutions to improve performance and shorten development time for complex programmable logic devices, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) and system-on-chip (SoC) integrated circuits. Synplicity's fast, easy-to-use products offer high quality of results, support industry-standard design languages (VHDL and Verilog) and run on popular platforms. As of September 30, 2001, Synplicity employed 265 people in its 16 facilities worldwide. Synplicity is headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif.

Contacts: Aldec, Inc. Synplicity, Inc.
John Shephard Sandra Larrabee
Tel: 702.990.4400, ext. 211 Tel: 408.215.6033
university@aldec.com university@synplicity.com